[TSSIM] Chapter 370: What Happened?

Eriri and Utaha returned to their room, treading carefully so as not to wake Megumi and Izumi, lest they had to explain themselves.

As they headed toward their respective sleeping spots, suddenly, Utaha halted in her tracks.

She turned around, gazing at where Megumi lay, her blanket all puffed up, yet her head remained hidden.

Approaching slowly, Utaha lifted a corner of the blanket, revealing Megumi hugging her knees, then gently letting the blanket fall back.

'Guess I'm just overthinking things...' Utaha shook her head.

Once Utaha returned to her own sleeping spot, Megumi in her bed opened her eyes. But soon, she shut them again, slipping back into slumber.

===

The next day, before lunch, everyone gathered together.

"So... is Yui-chan and the others practicing properly?" Hanayo asked.

"They should be..." Maki replied. "After all, the school festival at Sakuragaoka High is less than two weeks away."

"Hard to say, considering it's Yui we're talking about." Eriri shook her head. 

"Why don't we just ask?"

After saying that, Homura immediately took out his phone and dialed Tsumugi's number. He put the phone on speaker mode and placed it on the coffee table.

"Hello, Homura-niisan?"

"Mugi, having tea?" Homura smiled. 

The girls exchanged glances. His move was a bit bold, just straight-up asking if she was having tea. Seemed like he also didn't think they were practicing.

"Eh? How did Homura-niisan know? Did Yui-chan tell you?" Tsumugi sounded surprised.

The girls collectively went silent again.

"No, no! Why would I tell Homuhomu-senpai that I'm having tea?" Yui hurriedly denied it.

"Well, I just casually asked..." Homura also sounded a bit flustered. "By the way, how are the preparations for your school festival going?"

Soon the phone went silent, as if there was no signal at all, making everyone's eyes twitch.

"Uhh, maybe, possibly, probably okay?"

After a while, Tsumugi responded.

Homura suddenly heard a thud from the phone.

Probably Mio, banging her head on the table out of embarrassment?

"You used five uncertain words and posed it as a question... How should I respond to that?" Homura almost didn't know how to respond. 

"Nooo—! So embarrassing!" Mio sounded frustrated.

"Ahahaha..." Tsumugi chuckled awkwardly, unsure of what to say.

"But your performance itself is definitely going to be fine, right?" Homura continued.

"Eh?"

"What do you mean 'eh'? I've said it before. Even though you girls rarely practice, once you're on stage, your coordination and harmony are impeccable. Your performance might not be purely technical, but it's your bond as a group! And that's what we want to hear, that bond!"

"..."

This time, there was silence again on the other end of the phone, but this time, the response came much quicker than last time.

"Sure thing, Homura-niisan, you'll definitely hear from us!" Tsumugi sounded energetic.

"Alright, then you guys have your tea... though it'd be even better if you practice a bit." Homura chuckled.

BANG!

"Hey, Mio, if you wanna stand up, just stand up. Why the table slam?" Ritsu sounded a bit puzzled.

"Minamiya-senpai, trust us! We're heading to practice right away!" Mio said with a determined voice.

"Wait! Don't drag me, Mio!" Ritsu grumbled.

"No~ My tea~ my cake~!" Yui whined.

"Well... there you have it, Homura-niisan, we're off to practice now! Bye!" Tsumugi cheerfully ended the call.

Hearing the phone call end, Homura suddenly grinned.

"Just as expected, Mio heard me and turned embarrassment into motivation."

The girls wore expressions of disbelief.

"You mean you say all that on purpose?" Elf asked speechlessly.

"Sure did, but what I said wasn't untrue." Homura shrugged his shoulders nonchalantly.

They pondered his words, reflecting on their last performance at the hot spring villa, realizing it was exactly as Homura described.

"Mio felt the weight of trust, so she wants to repay everyone's trust, and the only way to do that is through practice..." Homura explained to everyone.

"Umu, it's a kind of motivation, really. Even if they don't practice all the time, the effect won't be negative since practicing a bit is still better than not at all." Utaha nodded.

"And there's less than half a month left..." Nanami murmured to herself. "Really looking forward to it..."

The rest were equally eager, weren't they?

After lunch, before they could officially start working again, Homura thought for a moment and dialed another number.

After a while, the call connected on the other end.

"Minamiya-san? Sorry for the wait. I was just in the shower. I heard the washing machine stop, so I came out. Didn't expect Minamiya-san to be calling me."

"Oh... You were in the shower, huh?" Homura subconsciously imagined a scene, feeling a tickle in his nose. He quickly shook his head, trying to shake off the image.

"Kirisu-sensei, have you noticed any suspicious people around recently?" Homura asked directly.

"Suspicious people?..."

Mafuyu rubbed her still-damp hair with a towel, pondering and, after a moment, she replied.

"Not really... I usually drive when I go out around here, so there shouldn't be any suspicious people near my apartment. Besides, that person from last time was scared by you enough; he probably wouldn't dare again."

She recalled the chilling encounter, yet just thinking about it made her feel secure.

"That's good... Although I told you to call me if you sensed anything wrong, not getting your call had me a bit worried..." Homura admitted.

"Thanks for worrying about me..." Mafuyu's tone was complex.

She was actually mulling over whether to make the call herself. Although there wasn't any danger, sometimes she still felt like making that call. Yet now, Homura had called first while she was still mulling it over.

A hint of a smile appeared on Mafuyu's face.

"No need to thank me for that..." Homura's voice sounded somewhat resigned.

Mafuyu chuckled again and took the opportunity to put on her clothes. As she opened the closet drawer and saw a certain creature inside.

"KYAAA—!!!"

"What's wrong?!"

Homura hurriedly asked, frowning as his ears rang with Mafuyu's sudden loud yell from the phone.

"Hey! Hey! Kirisu-sensei! Say something! What happened?!" Homura shouted as he ran out, "Everyone! I'll be back in a bit!"

""We heard you...""

""Yes...""

""Yeah...""

Several girls, drawn out by Homura's shouts, replied dazedly to what he had just said. They hadn't heard or known who he had called, nor did they understand what had made him hurry away.

The girls looked at each other in confusion.

"Who knows what happened?" Elf couldn't help but say.

"I think I heard Homura-kun say 'sensei'..." Kotori spoke up.

"Kirisu-sensei, huh..." Megumi muttered to herself. "Hope she is okay..."